In the property insurance industry, water loss claims have traditionally posed significant problems for insurance carriers. For example, it is common for contractors to unnecessarily demolish and replace damaged structural materials (e.g., flooring and drywall), which has greatly affected the severity of water loss claims. This is caused in part by the fact that some contractors do not arrive at the job site in a timely fashion to begin mitigation of the water damage. Also, some contractors are not qualified and do not realize that the damaged structural materials may be restored rather than replaced. Even when contractors elect to restore damaged structural materials, they frequently do not use the appropriate type or quantity of restoration equipment and, as a result, the insurance carrier may pay an excessive amount to the contractor for the restoration services. In addition, if the damaged structural materials are not sufficiently dried and restored, mold can be a problem both for the claimant (from a health standpoint) and for the insurance carrier (from a liability standpoint). Another problem is that some insurance adjusters are not adequately trained to monitor the restoration process and/or are simply overloaded with water loss claims. As a result, there are large volumes of water loss claims that are not properly evaluated and are paid out simply to close the claims. Yet another problem is that a substantial amount of money is paid to claimants for the replacement of contents affected by water damage with little or no salvage value received for the damaged contents.